MOUNT ZION Every day in the summer since he was a little kid, JC Anderson would be in the driveway with friends playing pickup basketball.

That group included Lyncoln Koester, Sam Driscoll, Brayden Trimble and Anderson, with Koester winning the games to 21 most often between the four.

Mount Zion celebrates its 47-46 win of the 3A Springfield Super-sectional boys basketball game against Centralia at the BOS Center. The Braves' players have a bond that started as kids.

Now, Koester is the Braves' leading scorer and Anderson is a dominant post presence while Trimble and Driscoll are playing key roles as starters on a 35-1 team that will play in its first-ever state tournament this weekend with a 9:30 a.m. tip on Friday against Chicago Mount Carmel in the IHSA Class 3A State Tournament semifinals in Champaign.

"I remember it like it was yesterday, man," Anderson said. "Off each other, we just thrived."

Mount Zion's Grant McAtee takes the ball to the basket earlier this season.

Andersons mother, Becky Clayton-Anderson, would, from in the house, hear them mixing it up as little kids years before theyd grow up and become one of the most dominant basketball teams in the state, and the best team in Mount Zion history.

"It was just the best thing as a basketball player watching them all out there just playing, and they would fight and hit and punch and cuss at each other, and then they'd get done playing and they're just best friends," Clayton-Anderson said. "I just smile ear to ear every time they're out there playing because that's what it's all about growing up together and playing together. They just always have each other's backs; they always have."

The Braves beat Centralia 47-46 on Monday at the Class 3A Springfield Super-sectionals, overcoming a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit after a season where their offense has helped them mow through most of the teams in their path. Mount Zion averages 64.3 points per game, but its grit helped it overcome an early deficit against local rival MacArthur in the sectional finals as well.

Mount Zion players celebrate their 47-46 super-sectional win.

"They just don't give up," Braves coach Dale Schuring said. "They've got a determination and grit and a toughness to them that you've got to have in these types of situations. They've shown it every time we've needed it and they came through again."

That winning edge has been slowly building with the Braves as their roster got older. With juniors like Koester, Driscoll and Trimble, along with senior starter Grant McAtee, theres years of experience throughout the teams lineup. Thats a big reason why the team has put together a record-breaking run after a 1-14 record in 2020-21.

"It takes time," Schuring said. "The juniors ... they've been playing since they were freshmen, but 14-year-olds against 17- and 18-year olds, it's not as fair as you would think no matter how talented you are. It's a progression. They've gotten stronger; they've gotten better. It's so gratifying for them that they've shown that and they get the opportunity to go to state."

As the players grew physically and mentally over the past few seasons theyve become a local juggernaut. They feature high-level athletes, but its the understanding and speed they can play with together that has allowed the Braves to go on a special postseason run.

Mount Zion's JC Anderson celebrates during the Braves' win against Centralia in the super-sectionals.

"We knew we always had the potential to be big, but I think it's just Coach Schuring helped us a lot," Anderson said. "He disciplined us and he helped our heads not get too big. So it's just been being patient and waiting for our turn."

The Braves are ready to take the intensity they built in their games in the Anderson driveway to the floor at the State Farm Center.

"It's a special group," Anderson said. "Words can't explain it. No one believed we'd be here. We don't have five-star players. We don't have (Division I) basketball recruits, but we have chemistry like no other."

Signs cheer on the Mt. Zion boys basketball team, who are heading to the state final for the first time, outside McGaughey Elementary School on Thursday.

Jill Sams puts up signs in town for the Mt. Zion boys basketball team, who are heading to the state final for the first time, on Thursday.

Whitney Getz, Kamry Getz, 4, and Macklin Sams, 3, put up signs in town for the Mt. Zion boys basketball team, who are heading to the state final for the first time, on Thursday.

Signs cheer on the boys basketball team, who are heading to the state final for the first time, in Mt. Zion on Thursday.

Mount Zion senior Tyson Evans high-fives basketball team members Thursday as the Braves head to the State Farm Center in Champaign for the state final tournament.

Mount Zion students cheer as the boys basketball team heads to the State Farm Center in Champaign for the state final tournament on Thursday.

The Mount Zion boys basketball team proceeds past students on the way to the bus on Thursday to head to the State Farm Center in Champaign and prepare for the state final tournament.

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Chemistry taking Mount Zion boys basketball to doorstep of state title - Herald & Review